Silence of the dragon
by Nicaeus
Summary: Amnesiac Hotaru ends up in the Shire and is discovered by Gandalf who is recruiting Bilbo for the trip to Erebor. SMLOTR Crossover. Ranma has a cameo.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material is property of their respective owners. I own nothing. This work is merely to show my appreciation to the original creators.

"words" - Japanese, Westron.

"_words_" - Sindarin

' ' - thoughts

------

Sad deep purple eyes stared at the determined crimson ones as one Tomoe Hotaru faced the ancient Guardian of Time whom she had begun call her "mama". The mist swirled around them and the Gate glowed providing the only light in this ethreal realm. Another petite figure lied unmoving nearby. Saotome Ranma hadn´t come here on her own free will.

"Why?" Hotaru asked.

Setsuna sighed "You know why. You and her are dangerous to the formation of Crystal Tokyo. Serenity asked that we outers would kill you but I could not do it. You are alive only because I convinced Haruka and Michiru that I would take care of disposing you two."

Setsuna´s expression softened a bit. "I will send you two to another dimension so you can have a new life. Perhaps you both can find love and acceptance there. Please forgive me Hotaru. I truly wish there was another way."

Unlike most who knew her thought, Meiou Setsuna had a heart. She loved Hotaru very much but her sense of duty would not allow her to let Saturn potentially ruin everything she had worked for millenia. Still she felt she already had too much blood in her hands and she could not bring herself to hurt Hotaru. Leaving her at the mercy of the opportunistic and calculating Uranus and Neptune would have meant death sentence. Also sending Ranma away from the hell of her ordinary life was doing a huge favor for her in Setsuna´s mind. There was an option for not killing the two youngsters and she was going to use it. Unfortunately convincing Ranma had been less than easy and had required a Dead Scream at close quarters and a whack with Garnet Rod to end the argument in Setsuna´s favor.

Hotaru was nearly crying. "I cannot believe Usagi would do this to me. What did I do."

"Nothing. You both just are too powerful for her to control and could prevent our plans."

"What about Chibiusa? I thought we were friends. Didn´t she object at this, tell you that I or her were in the future?" Hotaru said gesturing at the uncoscious martial artist.

"No, I am sorry to tell you this Hotaru but she was the one who initially suggested this. She told us that you would attack the other Senshi sometime in future. Ranma obscures my ability to see the future and I cannot tell anything else except that without you two Crystal Tokyo will be. With you, who knows."

Hotaru´s shoulders slumped and she started crying silent tears. It seemed like no-one was willing to accept her. People just used her and threw awaywhen she had no more use.

"W-why then, why call me a friend? Why pretend like she did?"

"I honestly do not know. Perhaps it has something to do with how she was raised. I know her well enough to say that she ultimately is a rather self-centered little girl. Not many things have been denied from her. Let´s not think about that now. Please give me your henshin pen and go just inside of the gate and I will send you two away," Setsuna calmly said and dragged Ranma towards the Temporal Stream. Hotaru walked behind her and sat next to Ranma hugging her legs and looking miserable.

Setsuna then walked some distance away from the gate, turned facing it and unleashed her powers. The temporal winds started whirling around the two youngsters and soon Hotaru felt herself hurled across infinite distances. She also felt Ranma fly next to her untill they were separated at some point of the flight. Her body felt like it was malleable clay in artists hands and all the sensations she was experiencing soon overloaded her mind.

At the Gate Setsuna watched horrified as the duo vanished. The power surge had been too big and they were not going to the parallel modern world like she intended. It was totally impossible to tell if they had landed safely somewhere or just been obliterated from existence. She collapsed next to the gate and started weeping for the girl she had began think as her daughter.

------

Gandalf laughed at Bilbo´s antics as said hobbit had just hurried inside of his house and hastily banged the door at the wizard´s face. An invitation for a tea tomorrow? Why not. He would come and bring some friends too. He inscribed a rune in Bilbo´s door and went looking for Thorin to inform him that he had found a thief for him.

He found the dwarves at the local inn and informed them where and when it would be prudent to enjoy the hospitality of mr. Baggins. After this he filled his pipe and decided to take a walk as he truly enjoyed visiting Shire.

He had not wandered far as his eyes fell on an odd sight. Of all things an elven child in rather weird and somewhat shredded clothes was lying in the middle of the road. Gandalf hurried himself at the side of the sleeping girl and studied her. She was a Noldo if he did know anything of the elves. The raven hair and pale complexion gave that away but what was she doing alone so far away from nearest elven dwelling. Although elves passed through Shire when they journeyed at the Grey Havens it was very rare that any of them showed themselves to the hobbits. And where were the parents of the girl. No elf would abandon their child in such a manner willingly. He decided to wake the elfling up and find out what was going on.

As he touched the girl he received a vision of a tall woman with long green hair surrounded by a mist. The woman looked at him and asked him to look after the girl before vanishing. Several other short visions followed before he saw the girl again, this time floating in space surrounded by a dark aura which felt as it was saturated by loneliness and hopelessness.

The vision faded and Gandalf returned to the waking world. He tugged the girl who stirred, opened her eyes and rose sitting and staring at the old wizard with confused expression.

"_Who are you? Where am I?_" Her expression changed to very worried. "_Who am I? Why I cannot remember anything?_"

"_Be at ease young one. I am called Mithrandir by your people and I am a wandering wizard. We are right now in the middle of the Shire where hobbits live_" He said gesturing around at the various small buildings and several hobbits who were staring at them. "_You really do not remember anything, like who your parents are?_"

"_Father! Mother! No, I cannot remember them but somehow I know they are both dead._" The elfling broke into tears.

"_Shh, let it all out. We´ll figure out what to do. I´ll take you to see Elrond. He´ll know. In the mean time how about I give you a name if you do not remember what yours was before._" Gandalf fell silent thinking about a fitting name. "_I think Lúmëntariel is a good name for you. Or Dúriel as it is in Sindarin. Do you like it?_"

The elfling thought for a moment and then nodded smiling weakly. Somehow the name was very fitting.

"Very well then, Dúriel, can you speak Westron. If you need to speak with locals it would be good."

Dúriel nodded. "Yes, I can."

"Good, good. Now then, I guide you to the inn I am staying tonight and tomorrow we are invited for a tea by a certain hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. Let us see if we can find you something to wear instead of those shredded clothes too." Gandalf said and guided Dúriel towards the inn.

------

A/N: Seeing I had some writers block with Ode to Chaos I decided to dump some clichés together and write this. Lets see, girl falls to ME and rest of the Sailors betray someone. I hope I can cook up a decent story and don´t worry about Sues because I´m actively trying to preserve canon as much as possible. Too bad I haven´t got English version of the Hobbit so I must translate back to english and so some things may change a bit.

Ranma will not be seen during this story anymore but will appear in another linked in this because she (yeah, she´s locked but it will be explained) ends up in different time period in ME.

Hotaru knows Sindarin, Quenya and Westron since she was transformed to her ME-counterpart which just happens to be a Noldorin elf. Her memory is totally in shambles because of the trip and she thinks herself as always having been an elf although she does know nil of any customs etc.. The name Gandalf gave her means roughly "maiden garlanded with darkness" in Quenya and "Maiden of twilight" in Sindarin. The spelling of these may have errors but I like the way they turned up.

Enjoy the story and R/R.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material is property of their respective owners. I own nothing. This work is merely to show my appreciation to the original creators.

"words" - Japanese, Westron.

"_words_" - Sindarin

"**_words_**" - Quenya

' ' - thoughts

------

The evening went like on wings for the young elfling and the old wizard. They visited a local tailor and found some clothes for the girl although they did not fit too well seeing the differences in the build of hobbits and elves. The poor tailor hobbit was so amazed to see the duo that he almost forgot to ask a payment. On the way back to the inn Gandalf tried to see if Dúriel remembered anything at all and had confirmed that she did not. After they arrived at the inn and had something to eat he asked if the girl wanted to know about her people and receiving an affirmative answer had began to tell her the old legends of the Noldor. How the elves awoke long, long ago, how they arrived in Valinor and what kind of place it was. He talked about Valar and Melkor and his deeds and how they affected Noldor.

All this time Dúriel had sat like in a trance, seeing the proceeding of the story in a flashes of vision.As the story proceeded to the kinslaying in Alqualondë and the events in Beleriand she quivered a bit uneasy but did not speak, afraid that the old wizard would stop his tale. Gandalf spoke on, recalling the events of the Second and Third Age in more brief fashion. Then he fell quiet and looked at Dúriel who sat across him. Outside the night was old and the sunrise only few hours away.

"This, young one, is the tale of the Noldor and those of other origin who have participated in it. Yet what I have told you is the bare minimum and only a summary. If you wish to know more I think it would be better to ask from Elrond Halfelven as he has been a part of many of those tales and is one of the greatest loremasters left in Middle-Earth in this day and age. From him you can hear the detailed stories and many more which I have not told you now. You shall see him soon as we will be leaving in a day or two for Imladris where he lives. Now, however, I think an young elf like yourself should take some time meditating and we can speak more tomorrow."

Dúriel shook her head. "No, Mithrandir. I wish to go outside, go to see the stars. Please."

Gandalf sighed, rose and stretched a bit. "Youngsters these days, no respect for the elders and their need to sleep at all." His voice was stern but a smile in his face betrayed his feelings. "Very well then. Let us go outside for a moment."

They exited the Inn and walked at the nearby hill. The night was dark but the sky was clear and the moon and the stars provided enough light for their sharp eyes to see well.On the top of the hill they gazed at the sky and for Gandalf it seemed like Dúriel was searching something.

"There. What star is that?" She asked pointing at the horizon where one could see an yellowish star.

"That is Lumbar, the Star of Shadows. Why did you ask?" (A/N: Lumbar is Saturn in Quenya.)

Dúriel glanced at Gandalf. "Because I feel I have some connection to it. I do not know what or how but I feel familiar when I gaze at it." Then she sifted her gaze back at the horizon where Lumbar was shining and spoke with tone that could not be denied. "**_Star of Shadow, Herald of the Silence Everlasting. Hear my words, answer my plea. Who am I?_**"

And the star answered. For a brief second Dúriel was bathed in deep shadows. A whisper was heard in the cool air.

"**_Child of the stars, thou art my avatar. Thou carriy my power, the power of destruction and renewal. From beyond the Halls of Ea guided by the hand of Ilúvatar thy spirit has travelled to bring ruin those deserving and hope those yearning. Thy power is lost now but shall be reclaimed. Let my brother, the bright Eärendil mark the start of thy journey._**" A cool breeze followed the words.

At the above of the treetops a lone bright star had risen to herald the new day. Gandalf watched in amazement as he too had heard the whispering voice. This child was something extraordinary. He started to ponder if it would be prudent to take the child along after they left from Rivendell to the wilder east. It would be very dangerous for everyone, especially for a child and so he was wery loathe to consider such an option. No, he would make a decision in Rivendell aided by Elrond´s counsel.

------

At the inn the dwarves had arisen and were eating a breakfast as Gandalf and Dúriel arrived. They turned to greet him butwere left staring at Dúriel mouths open. Finally Thorin gathered enough wit to speak.

"Gandalf, what is this? Why is this girl with you and where did you get an elf of all things."

"Now now, Thorin. Don´t be rude. We are heading in right direction so I decided to take her along until we reach Rivendell.

"But Gandalf..."

"No buts Thorin. You wanted my help and that you shall get but you must agree to my terms. Her coming along is one of them. Dúriel, this is Thorin Oakenshield, the heir of the kings under the Mountain. Thorin, meet Dúriel."

Dúriel curtsied and greeted the dwarf politely. Thorin hmphed. "Well, at your service I suppose. I still think bringing her along is foolish. I think you have lost your wits Gandalf."

"Lord Oakenshield. I am sure Mithrandir has very good reason to take me with you. I assure you I will not be a burden or bring trouble," Dúriel spoke softly.

"You heard her Thorin. I do have a reason, although it is my own."

"Oh all right then, lass. I suppose I could allow it although no further than Rivendell," Thorin who had rather liked being called a lord said.

Gandalf then introduced the other dwarfs to Dúriel who greeted them just as politely as she had greeted Thorin. The dwarves, although generally mistrustful towards elves, decided that such a polite elven lass was welcome among them. They thoo agreed though that the Misty Mountains or the Wilderlands east of them were no places for her. Gandalf merely smiled.

------

When the teatime was arriving the dwarves, at Gandalf´s suggestion decided one by one to go greet mr. Baggins who they thought was the local expert at the art of burglary. Finally Gandalf, Dúriel and the remaining four dwarves, Thorin included, left the inn and headed towards the Bag End.

As they arrived, Gandalf who was walking last with Dúriel gestured her to wait as the dwarves went to the door. As Bilbo suddenly opened the door and the dwarves collapsed in a pile on the floor Gandalf laughed heartily and Dúriel, unsuccesfully, tried to stifle a giggle. Thorin was not amused and made it very clear to poor Bilbo who apologized profusely until the disgruntled dwarf decided to forget the whole thing.

As she entered inside Dúriel found that the ceiling was at a rather low altitude. Were she a bit longer she would have had crouch like Gandalf had had to do. Otherwise the interior seemed very homely and she was also fascinated at the owner of the house seeing that this was her first closer contact with a hobbit. Bilbo, likewise never before had met any elves and openly stared at the ethereally beautiful girl before him. Dúriel introduced herself and received a confused "thank you" from the poor hobbit who right now was wondering what was going on.

"So, now we all are here. It seems lively enough. I hope that there is something to eat and drink even for the latecomers. What´s that? Tea? No thank you, I think I´ll take some red wine." It seemed that the wizard had decided to confuse Bilbo totally and the dwarves too decided to start demanding all sorts of things like cakes, salad, cheese and so on. Bilbo, in daze, headed to fetch what the Dwarves wanted. Dúriel felt bad for him and decided to help. She arrived at the kitchen just as Bilbo was cursing the dwarves for not helping. Wordlessly she grapped several plates, forks and knives and turned around to find Balin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili standing at the door. Together the elf and the dwarves then set the tables and brought the food so that everyone could eat. Soon everyone (except Bilbo who had no appetite left) were eating and conversing with each other. The dwarves were eager to know what Dúriel was doing in the Shire and everyone, especially Bilbo, was rather shocked to hear the happenings of the previous day.

After the meal ended the dwarves brought out their instruments and started to play and sing. Such a performance it was that the three listeners never noticed that the evening had come and darkness fell upon the land. The song told of things far away, of kings, of treasures, of dragons. Both Bilbo and Dúriel felt something stirring in their hearts and urge them to go to see those things themselves. Yet the image of a fearsome dragon added some hesitation in their wish to travel and as the dwarves stopped singing Bilbo rose and announced he would go get some light. Thorin refused saying that in the dark was best to think dark plans and urged Bilbo to sit after which he began to talk about their plans to defeat Smaug and claim the treasure that it had hoarded under the mountain.

As Thorin mentioned that some or all of them could die during the journey it was too much for Bilbo who screamed, threw himself at the floor and started to repeat "Lightning struck, lightning struck."

The panicked hobbit was soon enough hauled up and laid to the livingroom sofa to gather himself. The dwarves snorted at such a display and continued to talk. Soon enough Bilbo came back, his braver side had won. After some bickering they started to plan their journey and Gandalf produced the map that showed the secret entrance to the mountain.

Dúriel listened all this with only a little interest and her mind soon started to wander at the events of the previous night. The whispering voice she had heard had been comforting and familiar and as it spoke she had felt a tiny surge of something inside of her. She wished to know what the voice was and how she had called it.

The whispering voice answered to her. "**_Child of the stars, what thou wish is to know thy own heart. Travel to the east. There thou shalt find something thou lost at thy arrival in the Halls of Ea. When thou find what thou seek thy power shall be reclaimed and the answers in thy heart shall be heard._**"

"**_I understand. Thank you._**" Dúriel answered aloud.

An absolute silence followed. No-one, save Gandalf had heard the whispering voice but Dúriel´s sudden outburst in Quenya had interrupted the dwarves.

"_Child, I think we should go outside. I want to test something,_" Gandalf said and rose from his seat.

"_As you wish Mithrandir._" Dúriel answered.

"What is going on? What did she say?" Thorin demanded from Gandalf.

"Nothing important. I must however depart from your company for a while. Come with me Dúriel."

Gandalf and Dúriel went outside and left Bilbo and the dwarves to themselves. Bilbo suggested that they should go to bed seeing that they had already discussed enough for one day. Thorin agreed and they quickly arranged beds for everyone.

------

They walked in silence to the same spot they had been gazing stars night before. As they reached the spot Gandalf turned to the girl and reached out his right hand where Narya was.

"**_What do you see child?_**" Gandalf asked in low voice and using Quenya so that possible eavesdroppers could not hear or understand.

Dúriel studied his hand intently. "**_I see a red star twinkling in your hand. What is it?"_**

"_**Something hidden. Something that is forbidden to be talked about. Please promise me that you tell no-one about this."**_

"_**I promise Mithrandir. But why did you show it to me?"**_

"_**I wanted to confirm something and it is like I thought. Most of the Noldor has a gift to use magic in a form or another but in you it is especially strong. It is a mighty gift but must be used carefully and you need guidance. I wish I could do it myself but at least in immediate future I am afraid I have far too many pressing matters." **_

Gandalf searched his robes for a while, pulled out his pipe, filled it and started to smoke.

He watched the stars and contemplated the situation while smoking. Then he spoke again. "**_Then there is the matter of your coming out of nowhere, "From beyond the Halls of Ea guided by the hand of Ilúvatar" said the voice we heard. It is most troubling, but I think someone has intended that you have a part to play in all of this. What that part is I do not know but I suspect you should be taken along all the way to the Lonely Mountain, although Thorin will disagree with me. Now, I suspect the others are already asleep. Let us go to get some rest as we will depart tomorrow morning."_**

A/N: Here you go. I´m trying to follow the original chapter-structure from the Hobbit. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material is property of their respective owners. I own nothing. This work is merely to show my appreciation to the original creators.

"words" - Japanese, Westron.

"_words_ " - Sindarin

"**_words_**" - Quenya

' ' - thoughts

------

Next morning Bilbo awoke late and as he dragged himself to the dining room he was greeted by a fearful mess, the dwarves, the wizard and the little elleth had used probably all of his dishes and left them lying around here and there. Grumbling he started to clean up. The only thing he was grateful was that they seemed to be gone for good although there was a tiny amount of disappointment mixed in as well.

Bilbo berated himself for being a fool for wishing to go with them and prepared himself a nice breakfast from the foodstuffs left from last night's party. Just as he was preparing to eat the second breakfast, Gandalf barged in.

"My dear fellow, whenever are you going to come? What about an early start? Here you are having a breakfast, or whatever you call it, at half past ten! They left you a message because they could not wait."

Bilbo was totally flustered by now. "What message?"

"Great elephants! You are not at all yourself this morning, you have never dusted the mantel piece!"

"What´s that got to do with it? I have had enough to do with washing up for sixteen!"

Gandalf took a note that had been resting under the clock at the mantel piece and handed it to Bilbo. As soon as Bilbo had read what Thorin had written to him Gandalf ushered him out of the door and made him run to the Green Dragon Inn.

He arrived at the inn just in time for the time Thorin had set and found Balin and Dúriel waiting for him. The rest of the dwarves arrived leading fifteen ponies, two of whom were smaller than the others and obviously for Bilbo and Dúriel. They began to ride eastwards and soon Gandalf catched up with them riding a splendid white horse.

They travelled several weeks at leisure pace. At first, as they travelled through the Shire and until after they had left Bree, the weather was good and their spirits high. Then the weather took a nasty turn and soon they found themselves toiling forwards cold and wet.

One day the dark had already fallen as they decided to stop for the night. The rain had continued all day and everyone felt rather miserable, so miserable that they completely missed it when Gandalf still rode forward and asked Dúriel to accompany him.

"_What for, Mithrandir. Should we not help others to prepare the camp?"_Dúriel, eager to have some food and change to a drier clothes, asked.

"_No, child, they manage it well by themselves. From now on our road will become more dangerous for many creatures roam in these uninhabited woods. I feel we should look a bit further ahead for our route tomorrow morning."_

"_As you wish, Mithrandir." _ Then her ears picked a faint sound of hoofs from east, along the road. Along with them there was also a ringing sound like small bells._ "What is that?"_

"_What do you hear, child. Your ears are much better than mine."_

"_There is several horses approaching us from the east. There is a curious jingling sound that accompanies them."_

Gandalf smiled._ "You hear the horses of the elves. Soon you will meet some of your kind from Imladris." _Dúriel smiled, excited to finally meet her own kind although she secretly had an unexplainable fear that they would reject her for some reason or another.

Soon two elves rode at their sight. A man and a woman, both well armed with chain-mail and sword hanging on their sides.

They halted their horses and the male elf, who had a long golden hair greeted Gandalf.

"_Mae govannen, Mithrandir, it is a pleasant surprise to meet you here. Are you heading for Imladris, perhaps? And who, pray tell, is your young companion?"_

"_Mae govannen, Glorfindel. Yes, I am heading for Imladris with Dúriel here. We have also thirteen dwarves and one hobbit in our company. They are making us a camp further west along the road. Is there something going on? Surely Elrond did not send you and your lovely wife just to greet us."_

"_Nay, we are hunting trolls. Three hill-trolls have settled in these woods and have been ambushing travellers. We decided to get rid of them to open the road for people to travel",_ Glorfindel´s wife answered to him. She was rather small for an elf and had bright red hair that was tied to a tight braid reaching below her waist. Then she turned to Dúriel. _"Greetings and well met, little one. Forgive us for our hasty manner but we are in a hurry. I am called __Vinyalótë and my husband as you heard is Glorfindel. Hopefully we shall meet again in Imladris after those pesky trolls have been dealt with."_

"_Indeed. Perhaps we should scout the southern side of the road, my love", _ Glorfindel said.

Vinyalótë nodded. _"Agreed, let us go. Safe journey, Mithrandir." _They dismounted and led their horses to the side of the road.

"_You as well. We will return now to our companions and see you later then", _the old wizard replied. _"We must hurry back. I have an ill feeling that if we don´t the consequences will be tragic." _ Gandalf and Dúriel turned their mounts and headed back to west where they soon saw a light of bonfire shining behind the trees.

They dismounted quietly and stalked towards the fire. There they witnessed as the tree trolls were arguing how to prepare a meal from the dwarves and Bilbo.

"_We are fortunate that morning comes soon. Be still, and not a sound. I will handle this."_ Gandalf whispered to Dúriel who nodded and, rather afraid of the trolls, hid among the bushes. Gandalf began mimicking the trolls and heated the argument untill the first rays of the morning sun petrificated them.

Dúriel helped Bilbo out of the thorn bush where the unfortunate hobbit had been kicked by a troll earlier when he and Thorin had tried to free the others. Gandalf, meanwhile had opened the sacks where the rest of the dwarves had been stuffed.

As soon as everyone was freed and they had gathered together, Gandalf brought out the fact that the trolls cave must be nearby and that they should go and check it. They searched and found it relatively soon but had trouble opening the stone-door untill Bilbo remembered that he had pickpocketed a key from one of the trolls.

The cave smelled rotten and there were bones scattered around the floor. Next to the walls they saw several pots full of gold among a heap of all sorts of other loot. Nearby were several swords and knives, few of which were exceptionally good craftsmanship. Gandalf and Thorin picked these up and Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath and brought another similar to Dúriel as thanks for helping him out of the thorny bush.

"These look like good blades," Gandalf said, curiously examining the blades. "They were not made by any troll, nor by any smith among men in these parts and days; but when we can read the runes on them, we shall know more about them."

A clear voice rang in the morning air. "Indeed they are good blades, Mithrandir. By the look of it they are from Gondolin, although how they ended up in troll-hoard one can only guess.."

Everyone turned facing the entrance to the cave, where they saw Glorfindel and Vinyalótë peeking in.

Glorfindel spoke with a soothing voice to the dwarves who had readied their weapons."Now, now my friends. Let us not be hasty. We are not enemies, so you will not need to use your axes on us. Mithrandir told us you were travelling for Imladris and now that he has taken care of the trolls we too will head for there. Perhaps you will not object to our company?"

As the dwarves grumbled and put their axes away, Gandalf replied and came out of the cave. "Of course we will go together. It has been a while since I saw Elrond and I would love to hear any news you have now that we have more time to converse."

Before either of the elves had time to reply Thorin interrupted the conversation. "Where did these two come, Gandalf? And where and why did you and the lass disappear, if I may ask?"

"We went to look ahead."

"And what brought you back in the nick of time?"

"Looking behind."

"Exactly!" said Thorin, "but could you be more plain?"

"We went on to spy out our road. It will soon become dangerous and difficult. Also I was anxious about replenishing our small stock of provisions. We had not gone very far, however, when we met a couple of friends of mine from Rivendell." Gandalf replied nodding at the two elves. "They were hunting for these trolls we encountered and warned us about them. I immediately had a feeling that I was wanted back. Looking behind I saw a fire in the distance and made for it. So now you know. Please be more careful, next time, or we shall never get anywhere!"

"Thank you!" said Thorin.

"What exactly you did to the trolls, Mithrandir? They look like they were arguing something just before the sun got them," Vinyalótë asked.

Gandalf then told how he had tricked the trolls and was revarded by a hearty laugh from the elf. By now they had reached the ponies and horses and, after short introductions, continued their way along the road. Glorfindel asked to see the swords and easily identified them.

"These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the wars agains Morgoth. They must have come from a dragon's hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foehammer that the king Turgon of Gondolin once wore. Keep them well!"

"Whence did the trolls get them, I wonder?" said Thorin looking at his sword with new interest.

"I could not say," said Glorfindel, "but one may guess that your trolls had plundered other plunderers, or come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains of the North. I have heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted caverns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war. And who knows what mysteries from the elder days are buried in the caverns of the blue mountains."

Thorin pondered these words. "I will keep this sword in honour," he said. "May it soon cleave goblins once again!"

"A wish that is likely to be granted soon enough in the mountains for I guess your road will head that way soon!" Vinyalótë exclaimed. "But these two daggers Bilbo and Dúriel have are quite interesting. In fact I recognize them as I was the one who once wielded them in the defence of Gondolin. I lost them to the goblins as I had to make haste to evacuate the remnants of our house to the secret passage that Idril had built. They served me well once. May them now serve you just as well!"

Dúriel looked at the older elf in wonder. "But Mithrandir told me Gondolin was destroyed over six thousand years ago!"

"Indeed it was, child. Are you suggesting that I am old?" Vinyalótë asked with a mirth in her eyes.

"No! I, that is, um. It just is wondrous to meet someone who has lived the old tales."

"Those were hard times. Very hard. I had to do what I could. Perhaps, someday, there shall be a song telling your tale too,_ penneth nin_. There is a good poosibilty for that seeing that Mithrandir has taken you under his wing. He has a habit of attracting trouble."

"Enough of that, you will scare her witless or bore to death with such bantering." Gandalf grumbled in mock anger. Dúriel and Vinyalótë giggled at him.

They travelled several days with somewhat increased pace, as their rations had grew few and the nearest place for resupply was in Rivendell. Soon the Misty Mountains dominated their view and Bilbo wondered if the nearest peak in their way was the Lonely Mountain. Unfortunately for him Balin shot his hopes down by explaining that they had travelled less than half of the journey.

Soon they came to an endless maze of valleys, ravines, bogs and gullies. Glorfindel and Vinyalótë led them along a narrow and curvy path that was marked with small white stones. Even with their guides it was quite slow business to follow the track. Thus they travelled untill the daylight began to fail. Finally they came to the edge of a steep fall in the ground so suddenly that Gandalfs horse nearly slipped down the slope.

"Here we are, at the entrance to the valley of Imladris, The House of Elrond is not far anymore," Glorfindel encouraged the weary travellers.

Soon they began to hear singing from the nearby trees. The voices were quite beautiful but the words of the song were utter nonsense.

O! What are you doing,

And where are you going?

Your ponies need shoeing!

The river is flowing!

O! tra-la-la-lally

here down in the valley!

O! What are you seeking,

And where are you making?

The faggots are reeking,

The bannocks are baking!

O! tril-lil-lil-lolly

the valley is jolly,

ha! ha!

O! Where are you going

With beards all a wagging?

No knowing, no knowing

What brings Mister Baggins,

And Balin and Dwalin

down into the valley

in June

ha! ha!

O! Will you be staying,

Or will you be flying?

Your ponies are straying!

The daylight is dying!

To fly would be folly,

To stay would be jolly

And listen and hark

Till the end of the dark

to our tune

ha! ha."

Vinyalótë, who recognized couple of the singers, groaned and rolled her eyes, Glorfindel just shook his head in amusement and the dwarves grumbled about insane elves.

"Well, well!" said a voice. "Just look! Bilbo the hobbit on a pony, my dear! Isn't it delicious!"

"Most astonishing wonderful!" Another voice answered.

Then off they went into another song as ridiculous as the previous one. At last one, a tall young fellow, came out from the trees and bowed to Gandalf and to Thorin with mockingly grandiose way.

"Welcome to the valley!" he said.

"Thank you!" said Thorin a bit gruffly.

"What is this Elladan. Did we interrupt a party of yours?" Gandalf inquired.

"Just so, old one. Are you going to stay a bit and sing and drink with us, or will you go straight on? Supper is preparing over there," he said, "I can smell the Wood-fires for the cooking."

Bilbo would have loved to stay but the dwarves were adamant about not stopping to sing some nonsense in favor of getting a good meal. So they led their ponies onward and across a river that flowed through the valley. The bridge that arched over the river was vey narrow and they were forced to cross it one by one. As they crossed the bridge the partying elves brought lanterns to light their path and couldn´t resist making "witty" remarks at the travellers.

"Don't dip your beard in the foam, father!" they cried to Thorin, as he went across. "It is long enough without watering it."

Dúriel was treated a bit gentler. "What is this? Pretty young maiden in hobbit clothes. This cannot be. She must get proper clothes at once!"

"Mind Bilbo doesn't eat all the cakes!" they called. "He is too fat to get through keyholes yet!"

"Hush, hush! You drunken louts! Be gone with you!" said Gandalf, who came last.

Valleys have ears, and some Elves have over merry tongues. Good night!"

At last they made it to the Last Homely House, where Elrond was waiting them at the front doors. He was frowning and glancing at the direction of the partying elves.

"_Greetings, **yonya.** I would like to know what is going on. Have you decided to host a celebration of somekind. We met Elladan and heard quite loudly Elrohir and Aurgon singing that nonsense. I spied most of the youth of Imladris and few of the older ones making fools of themselves there,"_ Vinyalótë asked with irritated expression.

Elrond sighed. "_Alas, I was too late to prevent your twins from harrowing the wine cellars as the sons of mine made distraction. I fear that they took most of the brandy and wine, and the result you now see,"_ He said gesturing at the party. _"Matters got enough out of hand that I decided to let them have their feast, and to reprimand them in the morn."_

"_Very well. I shall have a few choice words with the children of mine as well. Their pranks have become quite troublesome as of late. One would think that they would be responsible at their age."_

"_Quite right, naneth. Could you take care of Elladan and Elrohir for me too? If I know Mithrandir as well as I think I know him he does have some important matters to discuss judging by his looks."_

"_As you wish. Have a good night."_

"_Good night to you as well, naneth, Glorfindel" _Elrond nodded as the pair passed him and went inside.

Gandalf cleared his throat. "Indeed, my friend. May I introduce you Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Balin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. And This is Bilbo Baggins. I have brought them here so that they can ask your counsel in an important matter."

Elrond turned to the dwarves. "Welcome then to my house, I am at your service. And greetings to you master Baggins. My apologies if those hooligans disturbed you."

Thorin answered for all. "And I am at yours, master Elrond. No harm done. Can I hope that there is some beer left, or have those merrymakers drank it all? It has been a long journey."

"Certainly, master dwarf. They like to drink wine and brandy more than beer so I suppose they left the barrels intact. Come in and please make yourself comfortable. The supper will soon be ready. "

The dwarves marched inside and took Bilbo with them leaving Gandalf and Elrond alone with Dúriel.

"There is more Mithrandir? Why have you not introduced this young maiden to me?"

"There is and I did not introduce her before because I wished to speak about her with you undisturbed. This, Dúriel, is Elrond Halfelven. Elrond may I present you Dúriel. I named her myself after I found her lying on the street in the middle of Hobitton. She has no memory of anything that happened before, not even her original name, and there have been several other incidents connecting to her that I must speak with you."

"**_Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo,_ **_young one . I will help you if I can,**" **_Elrond greeted the girl who was obviously very nervous.

"_**Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo, ** my lord. Thank you." _Dúriel answered shyly.

"Don´t worry Dúriel, Elrond won´t bite. At least not you. Have you told me all that you remember and have I witnessed all visions or such you have had since we met?

"Yes, Mithrandir."

"That is good. Run along now. Get something to eat and explore a bit. Imladris is a beautiful place. You could ask if Vinyalótë could show you around. I think she likes you quite a bit."

_------_

Dúriel left searching for food and Gandalf and Elrond left towards Elrond´s private rooms where they could talk in peace.

"_Visions? She is a Seer, then?"_

"_Nay, Elrond, she is not. She is something else. For all I know she could be one of the Ainur sent by Ilúvatar for some reason."_

Elrond raised an eyebrow. "_I see, and why have you come to such a conclusion. Please tell me all there is to know of this matter."_

Gandalf gave a detailed explanation how he had met Thorin in Bree, how he had thought to use Bilbo as a burglar and how that led him finding Dúriel and the visions the girl had made him to see.

"_There is much power in that young one. Her origin is a mystery, but after I take her with me to the east I hope some things clear out like I heard the Star of Shadow say," _Gandalf ended his tale.

"_Are you certain that this is not some plot of Sauron? I find most of this very suspicious. Perhaps Sauron wishes that you do not succeed in this endeavour of yours, although I find it unlikely that such a small group could slay Smaug in any case. Too often, my old friend, you resort to a desperate gamble."_

"_Yet such a gamble often brings results."_

"_And often it does not. Especially if the Dark Lord himself is involved."_

"_Perhaps, but in this case I do not believe her to be a minion of Sauron. Her spirit is far too innocent and unless she is Sauron himself in disguise I believe I could spot if she was trying to deceive me. Sauron she cannot be as he has forever lost his ability to take a fair form and he would never wear a female form. Nay, she is not evil, of this I am certain. But if she is an elf or a spirit from the Ancient West we will not know until I can get further proof. To get that proof I need to take her along with me as we depart to the east."_

Elrond sighed tiredly._ "Very well, Mithrandir. I trust in your insight in this. Do what you wish, as always."_

"_Naturally. Speaking of Sauron, by the way, I think we need to do something to him. Him sitting in the middle of the lands of the North in his fortress will eventually prove to be fatal for us._

From this the topic of their discussion drifted to the formation a plan to oust Sauron from Dol Guldur.

_------_

Dúriel had found the dining hall and joined Bilbo and the dwarves to eat supper. The food was delicious, even more so than the variety of the hobbit dishes she had had an opportunity to sample in the little party at the Bag End. As for the table companions she found herself sitting next to Bilbo and Glorfindel who was more than happy to tell them more of Rivendell.

"... and over that way is the Hall of Fire. As I recall that you loved to hear stories from the Elder Days, that will definitely be a place you wish to visit. Unfortunately I cannot accompany you as I must deal with some paperwork that has accumulated in my absence."

"What about Lady Vinyalótë, will she be there?" Dúriel asked as she did not see the older woman, who, after hearing that she was an orphan, had all but officially adopted her.

"Nay, my Lady has no patience to remain and listen as other tell stories. She comes there only to sing herself and listen as others sing, and then too she would not remain long. Her spirit is restless and, aside of singing, only in physical activities such as combat practise she finds her true enjoyment. Even now it is propable that she is doing her katas."

"Katas?" Bilbo asked.

"They are a set pattern of movements that are part of her fighting style. She is a good swordfighter but deadliest she is when fighting barehanded. Before I met her in Gondolin I would never have described an act of violence as an Art, but watching her practice for war is like watching someone else to dance and often those who are not versed in the ways of battle make such assumption when they see her training," Glorfindel explained.

"Oh. No offense but I think I will let that to her and enjoy the storytelling and -listening myself." Bilbo said.

"No offense taken, and I know she would neither. Now I must take my leave however. Enjoy your stay in Imladris, both of you." Glorfindel, who had finished eating, rose and bowed slightly to Bilbo and Dúriel.

Dúriel decided she too had eaten enough. "I shall go find the Hall of Fire. Will you come with me, Bilbo?"

Bilbo waved his hand and smiled. "No, no. I haven´t still eaten my fill. I will come later."

Dúriel smiled back. "See you later then, Bilbo." Then she left to the direction Glorfindel had instructed.

_------_

She had not walked far from the dining hall as one of the doors along the corridor suddenly opened and a human boy, perhaps ten years old, ran out. There was an expression of suprise and fear in his face. Through the open door could be heard an angry female voice shouting him to stop and face his just desserts.

As the boy ran past Dúriel he grabbed her arm and pulled her along running with him. Dúriel, shocked and suprised did not resist.

Her wits returned soon enough. _"Please let go. Where are you taking me?"_

"_No, Linnolmîr has gone mad. I won´t let her get you. Who knows what she would do to you," _He hastily answered.

As on cue an elleth darted through the door from which the boy had come earlier. Her long hair had an obviously unnatural violet hue underneath of which spots of red could be seen, and she was absolutely furious._ "A ha! You had an accomplice? No matter. I will get you both!"_

The boy eeped and increased his pace. Dúriel too began to ran faster so that he did not need to drag her along anymore. They ran until they came in a corridor crossing and seeing that the older elf was gaining on them the boy darted right, opened nearest door and ran inside, Dúriel right behind him.

Inside he collided with a desk, making her run into him and sending the large pile of papers on the desk all around the floor. A bottle of ink rolled from the desk and spilled over the papers, smudging the writing on them.

They hastily got up and continued running through the door that was opposite of the first one, leaving a shocked golden haired elleth that had worked at the desk staring at the mess. Linnolmîr ran in over the papers, spreading the ink further as he followed the two youngsters. After she came out of shock, the elleth who had been writing a longish history book started wailing in anguish as she saw most of her hard work destroyed beyond salvaging. It would not help matters that Erestor would be immensel angry after seeing so much of expensive paper wasted. He would start shouting at the first person in sight, wholly forgetting to find out what had happened.

Meanwhile the duo had managed to lose Linnolmîr by hiding in a room along another corridor they had found themselves in after their hasty exit from the library where the last episode had taken place. The room they found themselves in was obviously a study of some sort, as there was a desk and a couple of bookshelves along with some sturdy chests as furniture. There were also two banners hanging at one of the walls and an armor stand upon which was an elven full plate-mail obviously made for a female person. Upon the mail was a blackish-blue tabard that portrayed the Star of the House of Fëanor. One of the banners had a similar design while other too had the Star but in this it was golden instead of silvery and on green backround. Both of them seemed to be very old although the green one seemed tohave seen slightly less years than the other.

"_So, who are you and what was all that about?"_ Dúriel asked after catching her breath.

"_I am Estel and I honestly don´t know why Linnolmîr ran after me. I was walking past her room when she shrieked and next I know I am running away from her. Then you came along,"_ the boy said after he had collected himself. _"So, who are you."_

_"My name is Dúriel and I came here with Mithrandir just a while ago."_

"_Oh. Sorry about dragging you into this mess."_

"_Um, it´s okay."_

Just then they heard someone singing softly outside of the door. Estel, who recognized it as the voice of the owner of the study swiftly ran to the largest chest in the room, opened it and urged Dúriel to go in.

"_Why?"_ Dúriel asked.

"_It´s Linnolmîr´s naneth, my daernaneth, and she´s coming here. We´re in trouble if she sees us."_

They got into the chest which thankfully was nearly empty and closed it moments before the door opened and Vinyalótë, whose study it was, walked in singing by herself. She picked a scroll from a shelf and sat at the desk reading it, occasionally writing something in it. So far it seemed like she had not found out she was not alone in the room.

Soon her work was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the door.

"_Come in,"_ she said.

The person who stepped in was the aforementioned elleth from the library. She was sobbing, and ran to hug Vinyalótë as soon as she got in.

"_Naneth, I..."_ she said, after which her speech became a blurry as she began sobbing against Vinyalótë's shoulder. Part by part Vinyalótë managed to get the destruction of the manuscript out of her daughter, after which she led her to the chair in front of the desk, hugged her briefly and moved in front of the chest where Estel and Dúriel were hiding.

"_Come out. You have some explaining to do," _she said calmly, although with a furious expression and opened the chest.

As the two youngsters nervously climbed out of the chest and stood next to it, Vinyalótë began to question them.

"_What is this I hear about you two and Linnolmîr running around causing destruction. You, Estel, know perfectly well that the manuscript you three destroyed has taken years of careful studying from Sámariel and now she has to do it all over again. Explain, please."_

"_Forgive me daernaneth, I am the one at fault, Dúriel is innocent."_

"_What do you mean, Estel?"_

"_I, um, was running away from Linnolmîr and dragged her along and we bumped in Sámariels desk by accident. I´m sorry."_

"_I am not the one from whom you should be apologizing for. Why were you running away from Linnolmîr?"_

"_She thought I was the one who dyed her hair. It wasn´t me, I swear. On my honor."_ The last bit Estel added because he knew how important honor was for his daernaneth.

Vinyalótë narrowed her eyes. _"On your honor? You know what I shall do to you if you are lying."_

"_I swear it. I was just walking past her door as she screamed, opened her door and seeing me ran after me. I got scared. You know how her temper is."_

Vinyalótë looked deep in his eyes. Then her expression softened. _"Yes, I know. I believe you, Estel. You were just caught in an unfortunate circumstance." _She glanced at her still crying daughter._ "Still you two destroyed her manuscript and least you should do is to apologize her. I will not punish you further, but you and Linnolmîr should expect several rather heavy martial-arts and sword training sessions until I deem otherwise. You, Dúriel, just volunteered to some rigorous basic training in the ways of combat. It should help you if you are to jorney with Mithrandir for the wilds are more dangeroud the farther you venture from populated areas. One should at least know how to protect oneself. Apologize and this matter is solved on your account. Eru help, though, that fool who dyed my daughter´s hair and thus caused grief to my other daughter. This pranking has gone too far and certain people need to grow up."_ Last two sentences came out with a snarl.

She stood up and looked expectantly at the duo who took the hint and apologized Sámariel before vanishing quietly out of the room. Vinyalótë hugged Sámariel again and ruffled her hair gently.

"_Stay here as long as you need, **yenya. **I will go and find your sister and get her to apologize too. After that I hunt down both sets of twins and get them to confess. No-one else here is immature enough, save Estel and he is innocent. Will you be alright?"_

"_Y-Yes, naneth."_

"_Good, I am sorry that this happened," _Vinyalótë said before she left.

_"Now then, after I calm him down, Erestor might wish to help me come up with a punishment..." _Was the last thing Sámariel heard before she was out of hearing range.

------

A/N: It´s been a while since I updated. Anyway here it is and I hope I can update bit earlier next time. By the way I was a bit hasty in my earlier Author note. A certain character will show up and has already done so, but will have only a minor role in this fic. I just decided to throw in some clues about what happened to her.

Some translation are in order as some of the characters (Mainly Vinyalótë) use rather archaic language and I decided to keep certain expressions in sindarin.

Sindarin

_Mae govannen -_Well met

_Naneth_ - mother

Quenya

**_Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo - _**A star shines upon the hour of our meeting. Traditional quenyan greeting.

**_yonya - _**my son

**_yenya - _**my daughter

Yes, Elwing still is Elrond´s mother. He does have a good reason to call Vinyalótë _naneth _though. That however will not be revealed in this fic but in another linked to this one that will be posted sometime in the future. Same goes for the relationship of Glorfindel and Vinyalótë and their children.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material is property of their respective owners. I own nothing. This work is merely to show my appreciation to the original creators.

"words" - Japanese, Westron.

"_words_" - Sindarin

"_**words**_" - Quenya

' ' - thoughts

The midsummer´s morning dawned with a brilliance of a perfect summer day. There was no cloud to be seen and and the air was full of the scents of summer and singing of morning birds. Gandalf, Thorin and their companions could have not wished a better travelling weather as they now set out of Imladris towards the Misty Mountains. Their mood was merry and since both travellers and their steeds had rested well enough in the time they had stayed in Elrond´s house the pace was good.

They had spent the day before making preparations for their journey forward and Elrond had explained the moonletters which they found in the map of the Mountain as they studied it at the moonlight. Dúriel had received two new sets of elven travel clothes and all sorts of items one would need in the wild from Vinyalótë who really did not want to let the young girl to such a dangerous journey but had reluctantly agreed on it after Gandalf had spoken with her, explaining his reasons to take her along. She had insisted, however, that the girl would be trained to take care of herself and began a rigorous training regime that usually let Dúriel very exhausted for the remainder of the day. The result was that she was in a bit better fysical condition and knew something of fighting although nowhere near enough that Vinyalótë would have considered to let her be even near of a fight. Gandalf was told to bring her back under the pain of death if she was hurt badly.

Gandalf had after much arguing, threatening and shouting managed to make even Thorin agree to let Dúriel come with them although the old dwarf had become suspicious that Gandalf had lost the last grip to sanity he had ever had. As they rode forward Bilbo saw Dúriel, who was now riding her own pony, gazing something in her hand with a thoughtful expression before putting it back at her chest. Bilbo could not contain his curiosity and tried to take a better look at the item. It was a brooch with a flower design as far as he could see.

Bilbo decided to inquire further as they stopped for lunch.. "Miss Dúriel.That is a beautiful brooch. Did Lady Vinyalótë give it to you perhaps?"

"Yes, she did give it to me. She and Lord Glorfindel decided to adopt me seeing that I have no relatives left in this world. She asked me just before we left and I accepted. This brooch has the symbols of their house described in it. Look!"

She presented the brooch to Bilbo who carefully studied it before giving it back as he understood that it must be very precious to the girl. The brooch had the Star of Feanor inscribed on a flower made from the brightest gold Bilbo had ever seen and the flower was surrounded by a thin round disk made of green beryl.

"It is a beautiful thing that is for sure. And I am glad for you, for it is a hard thing to be without family. Ah, but I have to address you "My Lady" from now on, do I not, seeing that you are adopted in a noble house of all things." Bilbo said and smiled.

"Indeed, my Lady of the Golden Flower and master Baggins, may I present you your lunch." Gandalf said with a hearty chuckle and mock bow as he brought them their share of the deer-meat.

Dúriel blushed and giggled a bit. "No! I wish not to be called so. Least of all by my friends. Please, just Dúriel is fine."

"As you wish, Dúriel. I too am happy for you. I did not know that she had already adopted you although I suspected she would do so someday. She has a very big heart. To be honest that was one of the reasons I took you to Rivendell. No child should be without parents and I just knew the perfect ones for you seeing that they had many already. Besides you are not the only one adopted in that family." Gandalf said.

"Yes, Estel was adopted by Lord Elrond. I wish I had not had to leave him behind, we had much fun together." said Dúriel who had spent a great deal of her free time in Rivendell with the young boy and had become fast friends with him.

"It was not his time to leave Rivendell yet. But I did not mean Estel although you are correct in what you say, my dear. I meant that Vinyalótë adopted Lord Elrond and his brother when they were a bit younger than you are now. But come, let us eat before the food cools too much. I will tell about Elrond and his brother in detail later." Gandalf answered.

----------

Soon their road turned less pleasant as they climbed further and further up at the mountain path. The air grew colder and colder and all except the elfling had to protect themselves against the freezing wind. That and the barren landscape affected the mood of the company so that the discussions grew few and far between. Gandalf who knew better than others how dangerous the area had recently become was often gazing for any sights of danger for orcs had been seen not far from there.

One night they were still travelling despite of a thunderstorm and a downpour of rain as they had not seen any good place to make a camp. All were wet and miserable and so it was decided that Fili and Kili went ahead to seek a shelter. They came back soon and told the others that there was a cave not far from there and it looked like a good place to spend the night. So they went in and changed their wet clothes and prepared for sleep.

In the middle of the night Bilbo suddenly awoke to a terrible sight. The back wall of the cave had opened and several orcs had come out. Just as the last of their ponies disappeared to the dark tunnel beyond the secret door Bilbo let a loud shout that roused both Gandalf and Dúriel so that they, unlike the others evaded being captured. Gandalf assaulted the orcs with fire and thunder while Dúriel with a grace that only elf can muster leaped behind him and drew her angrily glowing dagger even though she was truly terrified at the sight of the orcs.

"Come with me! Fast!" Gandalf whispered to Dúriel as he had seen that orcs were about to close the secret door just as soon as they had captured everyone else. He flashed a brilliant ray of light from his staff which momentarily blinded everyone present and caused several orcs to drop to the floor in severe pain. Then the wizard and elfling bolted to the door and ran down to the darkness leaving Bilbo, the dwarves and the orcs none the wiser about where they vanished.

They ran untill they saw a narrow side passage which curved to the direction where they came so that it gave them a hiding place from the orcs that no doubt were already coming back with their prisoners.

"This is a grave situation. I made a severe mistake by not being more alert in the cave as I had many reports of orcs being seen here. Let us wait here for them to pass and then follow them to see where they lead the our poor friends." Gandalf whispered. Dúriel merely nodded as she was still quite scared after her first close contact with those vile creatures of which she had only heard tales in Rivendell and from Gandalf.

Soon after they heard and saw the orcs herd their prisoners and looted equipment past them while "singing" with their guttural voices. After the last orc had gone they slipped back to the main tunnel and stalked silently deeper into the mountain.

At its end the tunnel widened to a large cavern, which was lit by great pyre in the middle of it. The cavern was full of goblins and the prisoners were herded in front of a very large goblin who sat on a stone slab and was questioning them. They tried to get in a position where they could hear and see better without being seen themselves. Luckily the orcs were concentrating on looting their baggages or watching the interrogation.

"Urn!" was the giant orc saying. "So you say! Might I ask what you were

doing up in the mountains at all, and where you were coming from, and where

you were going to? In fact I should like to know all about you. Not that it will

do you much good, Thorin Oakenshield, I know too much about your folk

already; but let's have the truth, or I will prepare something particularly

uncomfortable for you!"

Thorin tried to defend himself without giving away anything important. "We were on a journey to visit our relatives, our nephews and nieces, and first, second, and third cousins, and the other descendants of our grandfathers, who live on the East side of these truly hospitable mountains,"

"He is a liar, O truly tremendous one!" said one of the orcs. "Several of our

people were struck by fire and light in the cave, when we invited these creatures to

come below; and they are as dead as stones. Besides there was a definite smell of an elf up there and he has not explained this!"

The orc held up Orcrist which Thorin had been wearing. As the other orcs saw it they became quite enraged as they saw the elven weapon which had cleaved so many of their kind that every last one of the orcs knew of it.

"Murderers and Elf-friends!" the huge orc shouted. "Slash them! Beat

them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and

never let them see the light again!" He stood up and rushed to Thorin in an attempt to bite his throat open.

At that moment Gandalf acted. _**"Hear my words, pyre of the orcs. Rise and burn your masters."**_ He shouted and ran to rescue Thorin. The flames of the pyre suddenly rose right to the roof of the cavern and the wave of heat rushed at the orcs along with massive amount of sparks that bit in the flesh of all who got in their way. Soon every orc was rolling about in pain and fry biting and hitting everyone around them. In this confusion no-one stopped Gandalf as he ran behind the great orc and ran him through with Glamdring. The orc dropped to the ground with a dumbfounded expression but Gandalf had no time to stay admiring the result of his attack. He turned to see that Dúriel was safe and seeing that she had not moved from her hiding spot he gestured her to come fast to him while he shouted to others. "Follow me, quick."

All of the captured companions and Dúriel ran to him, although Bilbo was so dazed and confused that Dori had to pick him up and carry away. With Gandalf encouraging them to be faster and faster they half stumbled half ran until the wizard deemed it to be safe enough to stop for a moment. He unsheathed Glamdring which was glowing fiercely indicating that the orcs were not far behind and cut the chains with which the others were bound to each other when the orcs captured them.

He handed Orcrist which he had snatched from a terrified orc back to Thorin and made a quick count that everyone was present. Satisfied with the result he urged them to move and so they did run again. Very soon they heard a multitude of orc voices behind them and had no choice but to turn and fight as the orcs reached them. Gandalf and Thorin drew their swords and began hacking the foremost orcs so that the ones that came after them backed off terrified by the bright hateful light emanating from the swords.

By the time the orcs dared to move again the company was long gone. This did not hinder them for long though as they knew most of the tunnels hereabout as they had dug many of them themselves. They put on soft boots and ran fast and silently like only an orc can run, their hands almost sweeping the cave floor. They found the company in a wider section of the cave that had several outlets and even a small chasm of unknown depth that continued from somewhere above the ceiling through the floor.

This is why no one save Dúriel heard them and even she did not do so before they were almost upon them. She shouted a warning but it was too late as the orcs had already grabbed Dori who was carrying Bilbo and they fell. Dori began to fight back but Bilbo had lost his consciousness and laid still. Dúriel, even when still very terrified of the orcs, did not want to leave her friend and ran to grab the hobbit as the dwarves and Gandalf fought the orcs back. One of the orcs however, seeing an elf that all of his kind hated with a passion directed a brutal blow to the girl and hit her so that she lost her balance and fell to the chasm.

A/N: A cliffhanger. Of course. Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is a bit short but I try to make the rest a bit longer when I get into writing them down.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material is property of their respective owners. I own nothing. This work is merely to show my appreciation to the original creators.

"words" - Japanese, Westron.

"_words_" - Sindarin

"_**words**_" - Quenya

' ' - thoughts

Visions and memories are in _cursive_

------

Several months earlier

The Mighty Glaive of Silence tore its way through the atmosphere of the planet of Arda that was also known as Middle-Earth. The searing winds of the space-time continuum between the planes of existence had torn the weapon´s connection to it´s wielder´s soul away and now the intelligent weapon was for the first time in a countless millennia truly alone and it did not like the feeling. Immediately a psychic cry was sent forth to seek out the mistress but it was not answered. Only vague feeling told it that she was somewhere on the planet.

Blade downwards the weapon fell at an increasing speed towards the ground, eventually slamming at the side of a mountain, leaving a clean, glass-edged trail as the enchanted blade ate away everything it touched. It would have continued all the way to the core of the planet had it not eventually encountered a vein of mithril slamming itself hilt-deep to the ore and creating heat equal to that of the dwarven forges melting the ore so that the weapon was trapped in the vein. The impact silenced the mind within the Glaive and left it standing in the silent darkness.

------

The first thing Dúriel noticed was pain. Every inch of her body was hurting and felt numb. As she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness.

Dúriel panicked. What had happened to the others and how had she ended up here where she now was? She tried to stand up but was immediately assaulted by a strong vertigo and a major headache as she had moved her injured head too vigorously. She collapsed back to the floor and lied there for a while trying to move as little as possible to avoid more pain.

In this pitiful state she almost failed to notice a faint voice calling out. "Hotaru! Hotaru! Rise, child. Rise and claim thy birthright back!"

The name it was calling stirred her memory a bit and subconsciously she recognized it as her own. Almost on instinct Dúriel then began to crawl towards the voice. After eternity of painful, slow movement her hand connected with a cool metal staff that seemed to rise from the floor.

At the very moment Dúriel laid her hand on the metal pole she felt revitalizing energies fill her body, clearing her head and curing all her aches.

As she rose on her knees she saw a ghostly image of herself dressed in a strange clothes standing nearby. The ghostly girl had a white body hugging cloth around her torso, long leather boots, a very short purple skirt and a tiara on her brow. There was a symbol resembling h with a cross shining on the tiara jewel, the symbol of Saturn, Dúriel suddenly remembered. The girl was smiling at Dúriel.

"I have been waiting for you," she said. Then her form began to vaporize into million tiny sparks that swirled around a single many-faceted purple gem that materialized where the ghost had just stood. The gem then burst in a brilliant light and after the light faded it was gone but her forehead was now sporting the tiara that the ghost had been wearing. The light engulfed Dúriel and released memories and visions that until now had been hidden in her mind.

_A faint memory of woman with long dark hair but with blurred facial features. Feelings of unconditional love and happiness. _

_Mother._

Dúriel, as in a trance, stood up, took a hold of the metal pole and yanked upwards revealing the Silence Glaive, which greeted it´s mistress joyfully.

_A white haired man in a lab coat, raising from his work and smiling to her as she approaches. _

_Father._

Using the Glaive she sliced the stone wall creating a ladder to climb out of the pit. Slowly but steadily she made her way upwards and finally found a horizontal tunnel which she began to follow hand on the wall for navigation as darkness surrounded her and even her sharp elven eyes were of no use.

_She, as a child, playing in a park with her parents._

The tunnel she was following forked. She did not pause even for a moment but chose the way that lead upwards.

_Her mother, motionless, lying on a hospital bed. Herself and her father crying nearby._

A distant echo of a scream with full of longing and hate echoed from the depths of the mountain. "Baggins, hate, forever" were the only recognizable words. Dúriel unconsciously tensed.

_A laboratory, herself watching as energy built behind a window._

_An explosion. Pain. Father making a pact with a demon._

Many side passages forked away from the main tunnel but she did not pay any heed to them and walked forward along the main tunnel.

_A red haired woman scowling at her._

_A struggle against the darkness within. _

_Scattered memories of people backing away in fear, mocking her or ignoring her._

More voices, hard and guttural ones that she had heard before. Orcs.

_A memory of being hit by a gang of boys. _

_A saviour._

_A pigtailed boy holding one of her tormentors._

_A friendship._

_Boy turning into a red haired girl. _

_Amazement. Amusement._

The orc voices approached her, the Glaive was brought in ready position for a fight.

_Death of father._

_Sorrow._

_Another group of friends. Another family._

_Uncertainty. _

_Smiling faces. _

_Aquanette and blonde. _

_Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa. _

_False smiles._

_Fear._

_A tall, tanned woman wielding a staff. _

_Setsuna-mama_

_True smile._

_Hope._

First of the orcs found Dúriel and attacked as it thought her to be easy to kill. It was beheaded by a deadly swing of the Glaive and Dúriel continued walking as if nothing had happened.

_A child with pink hair. _

_Acceptance. _

_Happiness. _

_Friendship._

_Same girl dressed like her ghostly twin earlier._

_Betrayal._

More orcs attacked her. They all met gruesome end before even managing to lay a hand on her. Wild slashes and thrusts were parried and dodged and with every spin the keen blade of the Glaive cut through armour, flesh and bone almost effortlessly while the heavy blunt end of the weapon dealt brutal blunt trauma to everything it hit. By now she was dripping orc blood and gore. Those orcs that did not die fled before her as she without emotion advanced towards her destination.

_Herself flying through grey mist. _

_The mist turning into darkness. _

_A malicious presence in the darkness trying to take hold of her._

Yet more orcs. This time though they kept away from her reach and merely followed her shouting obscene comments and insults now and then.

_A man, radiant jewel on his brow, sailing in the darkness with a white ship. The evil presence retreating before him._

_A woman clad in dark robes with long dark hair floating in the darkness. In her hands a brightly shining globe. The symbol of Saturn shining on her forehead._

_Flying through a gate surrounded by grey mists. A painful landing._

_A tall woman with tear-streaked face lifting her up and carrying away from the gate._

Dúriel reached a doorway that led outside, forced the door open and stepped out to the cool night.

_A stern man, like a mountain of shadow, opening a door in a shadowy cavern and pushing her through._

_Waking up to a face of a friendly old man._

At this point Dúriel awoke from her trance. She noticed standing on a wide salient. As she glanced around she found herself being surrounded by a throng of orcs on one side and hundreds of meters deep fall on other side. Filled by a worry of her companions and invigorated by a feeling that she had survived similar situations earlier she suppressed her fear and raised the Glaive.

"Come no closer foul monsters. Leave me be."

"I don´t think so elfie." Largest of the orcs answered. "Me and boys are going to take you down and then we are going to feast on an elf flesh. " It began to laugh. "Too bad there´s only enough for a snack for everyone in you. Just enough to raise a hunger that your friends can satisfy, I think."

Dúriel felt a flash of anger, a moment of black hatred, towards these creatures. She pointed the Glaive towards the orc and it began singing a melody of death as a ray of dark energy was unleashed on orcs from its tip. Every orc that was hit was cut grievously and those able to do so retreated in fear. If they would have had a chance to retaliate Dúriel would have been defeated herself as she had converted most of her own life-energy to fuel that attack and collapsed on one knee balancing herself with the Glaive. However this did not help the orcs as suddenly a huge eagle swoop down from the sky and forced many orcs down from the cliff while killing others with its beak and claws. The orcs retreated screaming back to the cave and shut the door behind them leaving only the drained and tired elf and the large eagle outside.

----------

Earlier that day Bilbo had managed to escape from Gollum and orcs and stumbled upon Gandalf and the dwarves arguing about why he and Dúriel were left behind. The dwarves grumbled as Gandalf adamantly refused to leave anywhere without trying to rescue the missing duo. At this point Bilbo, who had been wearing the invisible-making ring he had found revealed himself and surprised everyone.

As he explained how he got out after being separated from others dwarves looked at him with quite a new respect, when he talked about dodging guards, jumping over Gollum, and squeezing through the doorway like he would do that every so often, the dwarves who had not thought too highly of him beforehand were amazed.

"What did I tell you?" said Gandalf laughing, "Mr. Baggins has more

about him than you guess."

"But what about Dúriel, whaere is she? We must search for her." Bilbo said.

Thorin did not like the idea of going back. "And how, pray tell, we are going to do that? She fell into that bottomless pit. And besides the whole mountain must be swarming with orcs and if she survived the fall they have captured and killed her by now. Shame really, such a polite lass, for an elf, she was."

"No, that´s not true! She must have escaped!" Bilbo who did not want to leave his elven friend behind said.

Gandalf, knowing very well that Thorin was probably right sighed heavily. He felt very old right now and heavy guilt was weighing on him because it was him who made Dúriel leave from the safety of Rivendell. "You are right, Thorin. It would be a fools hope to expect her to be alive any more. The orcs are angry and they hate elves more than anything else. Unless we want to share her fate we must be getting on at once, now that we are a little rested," he said, "They will be out after us in hundreds when night comes on; and already shadows are lengthening. They can smell our footsteps for hours and hours after we have passed. We must be miles on before dusk. There will be a bit of moon, if it keeps fine, and that is lucky. Not that they mind the moon much, but it will give us a little light to steer by."

"But...," Bilbo tried to argue.

Thorin interrupted him rudely. "No buts, burglar. We´ll leave now." Then he glanced towards the mountains and took off his hood. "However first let us pay our respects to our brave friend. Rest peacefully, lass." All the dwarves took off their hoods and bowed towards the mountain. Then they turned away and began walking briskly towards the woodland below. Grief-stricken Bilbo and sombre Gandalf had no choice but to follow.

Not far along their road forward were the remains of recent landslide. As they climbed over the rocks they came loose and began sliding downhill with the travellers running in middle of the reawakened landslide. Only thing that saved them was that the wood was not too far away and they managed to either climb to the trees or shelter themselves behind them. As the landslide stopped Gandalf urged them forward as the night was fast approaching and they were still far too near of the lair of the orcs.

After a lengthy walk on an exhausting pace they found themselves in a clearing in the middle of the forest. For some reason, although nothing out of ordinary was seen, they were struck by an ominous feeling. Then they heard a howl and understood that wolves were nearby. There was only one decision to be made, they all climbed to the nearby trees with best of their ability. Bilbo and Dori, who was helping him escaped the jaws of the wolves only barely as they ran to the clearing. Soon the clearing was full of them, several hundred eye pairs staring hungrily at the travellers who desperately tried to keep from falling from the trees.

After Gandalf, who well understood the language of the wolves had listened them talking about upcoming raid with the orcs a while he decided that something must be done or they would be dead very soon as the orcs would be there soon. So he began igniting pine cones and threw them on the wolves who, along with the forest floor were set on fire.

----------

"What would an elf-child be doing in the midst of orcs in a place like this?" The Eagle asked Dúriel after they had examined each other for a moment. The latter now sat slumped on the ground while trying hard to ignore all the foul blood and not gag from the smell.

"I was travelling eastward with some friends of mine, like Mithrandir, if you know him. I was separated from them and had to fight my way through orcs to get outside. You know the rest, o great eagle." Dúriel answered while trying to rid herself of the blood and regain her depleted strength. She remembered that such great eagles like this before her were friends of the elves and the heralds of Manwe Súlimo the High King of this world in the stories that she had heard from Gandalf and in the House of Elrond. She hoped that this one would also be a friendly one and help her away as she really did not want to descend back to the caverns to look for a proper way out.

"So I do and indeed I know of Mithrandir. Elves are still our friends, even if we usually do not look kindly upon others such as men and dwarves. Orcs are foul creatures and I chose to spare a few moments of my time to help you out."

"And I thank you for it. However could I ask you to help me to find my friends. I would like to join them very much."

"I am afraid I have no time to seek for them. I must hurry to the abode of Radagast the Brown, a wizard who lives in Rhosgobel, as I have an urgent message to him. This message is already late, so I heard from Elrond who asked me to deliver it so I cannot tarry and will fly straight to Rhosgobel from here. If you wish I can take you with me, elfling. I am sure that your weight would not slow me down. Radagast is a kind man and a friend of birds. I am sure he could help you to find your friends."

Dúriel, who did not see other easy way out of the mountain agreed after moment of thinking. "Very well, how far is this Rhosgobel."

"Far enough. We will be there by midday tomorrow if we leave now. Come, climb on my back. Do not fear, I will not let you fall."

Having managed to clean herself from most of the blood Dúriel climbed on the eagle´s back and it took on its wings and flew away towards the north-west. The view from on high was magnificent. Both the mountain range and the scattered woods below the mountains continued to north and south as far as one could see and a great dense forest could be seen far in the east behind a wide river that also ranged all the way from north to south. For a while Dúriel was entranced in these sights and said nothing.

"My name is Dúriel. I am thankful that you took me away from that orc-cave," she finally said deciding to introduce herself.

"And I am called Meneldor and you are welcome, little one." The eagle said. "Look, some of my kin, including Gwaihir, our king is flying to greet us."

Indeed, a dozen eagles were flying towards them from north. "Hail Meneldor, who are you carrying and where are you going?" the largest of the eagles asked in common tongue to let Dúriel understand their discussion for not many save Radagast or Gandalf spoke the language of the eagles.

"Hail Gwaihir. I am carrying a message from Elrond to Radagast and picked up this elfling, Dúriel, from the orc lair where she was being attacked by them. I must hurry forward my king, Lord Elrond urged me to be swift," Meneldor answered.

Seeing one of his subjects being on a mission from a wizard or the half-elven lord was nothing new to Gwaihir as he had agreed to help them in need so he began to circle away after nodding to Meneldor. "I see. Fly with good winds, Meneldor. Take my greetings to Radagast."

"I shall," Meneldor replied.

"Wait, o king. If you see Mithrandir, who must be somewhere here, tell him that I am well," Dúriel hastily called after him.

"Mithrandir? That name is known to me. Very well, elf-child. If I see him I will tell him." Gwaihir then glanced to the woods below from which a faint howling and shouting could be heard accompanied by the sight of the beginnings of a forest fire. "Now, let us go and see what is that disturbance over there, I hear orcs and wolves. Farewell, Meneldor, young Dúriel." He and the other eagles swooped down towards the forest.

----------

Meanwhile Gandalf, the dwarves and Bilbo were in a desperate situation. The orcs had descended from the mountain and were now torching the trees where they sat with the aid of the fires that Gandalf had ignited earlier. Just as Gandalf readied himself to jump down and take as many orcs and wolves with him before they killed him Gwaihir swooped down from the sky and carried him away. Others were similarly saved by the other eagles.

"Greetings Mithrandir. I was told you were about but I did not think I would see you so soon," Gwaihir said as he flew towards his eyrie to drop Gandalf off there.

Gandalf was surprised as he had not expected such a greeting. "Greetings to you too, Gwaihir the Windlord. Pray tell, from whom you heard of me being here? Lord Elrond perhaps?"

"Nay, an elfling by the name of Dúriel told me just moments ago that if I saw you I should tell you that she is safe."

"Dúriel! She really is safe? Oh, this is a very, very good news indeed. I thank you, Lord of the eagles. She is at your eyrie, then. But how did she know to point you to save us from our peril?"

"She did not. I met her briefly as one of my subjects was carrying her to Rhosgobel after saving her from the orcs. He was in hurry so I let him go, seek your friend there. As for how we found you, you can thank your fireworks for that. The smell of a burning wolf accompanied by burning wood and racket of the orcs drew us there."

Gandalf relaxed. Even though he would liked to have Dúriel near him he knew that she was safe with Radagast, who was a member of Heren Istarion, The Order of Wizards and one of the Wise. He was sure that especially Bilbo but even the dwarves would be glad of the news that she was still alive.

------

A/N: Here we go. It looks like I got a good amount of inspiration to write down this one as fast as possible. I have also finally decided the structure of this little series. The Silence is actually fourth part of five part story as I intend to write down a prologue that will explain why Ranma and Hotaru got in the mess they are. The second and third parts describe Ranma´s adventures in the previous eras of Middle-Earth.

Next will be a little spoiler.

------

Ranma actually got separated in two in the time-space stream. Female half has already made an entrance, male half will not be in this story. The reasons why Ranma-chan is acting rather ooc (as some of my reviewers have pointed out) is as follows. She has suffered an amnesia and 6000 years of life without anything closely resembling her old life. She´ll regain her memories just as Hotaru has done but somewhere in future as she did not have any sort of medium for that like Hotaru had. Her life so far will be recounted in the second story of the series, which will be presented in Silmarillion-style.

What about male Ranma? He´s a bit different case. Wait for the story number three (working name: Wild Horse of Dunedain).

------

End Spoiler

Last part will be LOTR-based that ties up everything that has happened in previous stories.

Oh, and you probably have already figured it out but I am not too big fan of certain scouts (Moon, Chibi-Moon, Uranus and Neptune to be specific).

Please review. I´ll be happy to either correct my mistakes or try to explain myself.


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